Top British spy warns of ‘industrial-sized’ cyber espionage

The head of Britain’s spy agency says the west is facing cyber espionage and crime on an industrial scale from both states and criminals.

MI-5 chief Jonathan Evans said government secrets, infrastructure and intellectual property are at stake. He described the scale of the threats as “astonishing” in his first public speech in two years, just ahead of the London Olympics.

ABC News reported the United States is working with Britain and other European allies on a unified way to counter cyber threats from China.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.

Tom Temin is the host of The Federal Drive, which airs from 6-9 a.m. on 1500 AM in the Washington, DC region and online everywhere. Tom has 30 years experience in journalism, mostly in technology markets. Before coming to Federal News Radio, he was a long-serving editor-in-chief of Government Computer News and Washington Technology magazines.